Drum key holder



S m a .m m N05,. 4 1| 1 July 7, 1964 P. 0. GRANT ETAL DRUM KEY HOLDER Original Filed Dec. 16, 1960 United States Patent O 3,139,783 DRUM KEY HOLDER Philip 0. Grant, Williston Park, and William F. Hagner,

East Meadow, 'N.Y. Continuation of application Ser. No. 76,331, Dec. 16, 1960. This application May 16, 1963, Ser. No. 282,530 1 Claim. (Cl. 84-411) The present invention relates to musical instruments and, more particularly, to a drum provided with a holder for a key which is used for tightening and relaxing the skin of the drum.

This application is a continuation of our application Serial No. 76,331, filed December 16, 1960, now abandoned.

A conventional type of arrangement for tightening or relaxing the skin of a drum comprises a plurality of internally threaded lugs circumferentially spaced on the side wall of the drum, clamps having a bore in the body thereof and bolts extending through the bores and threaded into the lugs which have a head adapted to be engaged by a key for rotating the bolts.

Heretofore, it has been customary for the drummer to carry the key in his pocket or in the case for the drum. This often caused delay in finding the key when it was needed which delay of course was annoying. Also it has been customary to mount the key on a clip provided on the exterior of the drum. The key in this instance often caused annoying vibrations and, further, often became disengaged from the clip and became lost.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to overcome the foregoing difficulties and annoyances by providing a key holder adapted to be positively secured to the drum, so that the key at all times when not in use was locked onto the drum.

Another object of the invention is to provide such an arrangement which lends itself to conventional drum and key structure, whereby the holder can be readily applied to newly manufactured drums and drums already in use.

Another object of the invention is to provide such an arrangement which avoids vibration and thereby does not affect the quality of the tones of the drum.

A further object of the invention is to accomplish the foregoing in a simple, practical and economical manner.

Other and further objects will be obvious upon an understanding of the illustrative embodiment about to be described, or will be indicated in the appended claims, and various advantages not referred to herein will occur to one skilled in the art upon employment of the invention in practice.

A preferred embodiment of the invention has been chosen for purposes of illustration and description and is shown in the accompanying drawing, forming a part of the specification, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a drum.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the drum illustrating the key and key holder thereon.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary elevational view of the key and key holder as seen from the interior of the drum.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 44 on FIG. 3 illustrating the key and key holder in detail.

3,139,783 Patented July 7, 1964 ICC FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line 5-5 on FIG. 4.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, a conventional drum is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 which comprises a hollow cylindrical body or side wall 10, a skin 11 mounted across the top and bottom of the body by rims 12, a plurality of circumferentially spaced internally threaded lugs 14 on the body adjacent the top and bottom thereof, clamps 15 for engaging the rims having a bore 15 in the body thereof, and bolts 16 extending through the bores and threaded into the lugs 14 having heads 17 adapted to be engaged by a key for rotating the bolts 16 to tighten or relax the skin 11.

In FIG. 2, a key 19 and a key holder 20 are shown positioned on the side wall 10 between an upper and a lower lug 14 which are in vertical alignment, so that the key does not protrude beyond any structure of the drum.

The key 19 and the key holder 20 are illustrated in detail in FIGS. 3 to 5, wherein a key 19 is shown comprising a handle 21; and a shank 22 having a pair of oppositely tapered shank portions 24 and 25, the portion 24 being at the forward or inner end 24' and the portion 25 being rearwardly thereof to provide a zone 26 of maximum peripheral dimension at the junction of these zones, and having a socket 27 at the forward end 24' for receiving the head 17 of a bolt 16.

The key holder 20 comprises a plug-shaped portion 28, a flange portion 29 at the outer end of the plugshaped portion, the portions 28 and 29 having a bore 30 tapering inwardly from the portion 29 to the portion 28 to provide a socket in the plug-shaped portion for receivingthe inner shank portion 24 of the key 19 in close fitting relation, and opposite peripheral slots 31 adjacent the flange portion, and a U-shaped spring 32 positioned about the plug-shaped portion and having leg portions 33 extending through the slots 31 for locking the key in the holder.

In order to mount and secure the key holder 20 onto the drum, the side wall 10 of the drum is formed with an opening 34 through which the exteriorly threaded plug-shaped portion 28 extends. A plate or washer 35 in abutting engagement with the inner side of the wall and an internally threaded nut member 36 against the inner surface of the plate readily secure the plug-portion 28 to the drum. The opening 34 is provided with an enlarged portion or counterbore 37 at the outer end for clearing the spring 32 and for permitting expansion of the leg portions 33, and the flange portion 29 engages the outer side of the wall 10 to firmly retain the holder therein.

In operation, the key 19 is inserted into the bore 30, thereby causing its tapered portion 24 to expand the spring 32 and allowing the spring to contract when the zone 26 has passed through it to thus firmly engage the tapered portion 25 and retain the portion 24 within the inner end of the bore 30. When the key is withdrawn, the portion 25 expands the spring 32 and allows the zone to pass through it, thereby releasing the key.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that the present invention provides a simple, practical and economical arrangement for releasably locking a key onto a drum, which arrangement is rugged in construction and can withstand such rough usage to which it may normally be subjected.

As various changes may be made in the form, construction, and arrangement of the parts herein, Without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and without sacrificing any of its advantages, it is to be understood that all matters are to be interpreted as illustrative and not in any limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

A drum key holder comprising a plug shaped element having an exteriorly threaded portion for mounting in a side wall opening of a drum, a flange at the outer end of the element for engaging an outer surface of said side Wall, said element having a through bore tapering inwardly from said flange for snugly receiving a drum key having a complementary tapered surface, said element having opposite peripheral slots adjacent to and inwardly of said flange, a U-shaped spring having leg portions freely disposed in said slots for resiliently urging said key into said tapered bore to thereby prevent vibration of the key in the element during playing of the drum, and nut means carried by the element at the inner surface of the Wall for securing the key holder to the drum.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS OTHER REFERENCES Slingerland Drums Catalog No. 57, see Drums, pages 27-29, Sept. 1, 1957.

Leedy Drums Catalog No. 58, Drum Key Shell Holder #1949, page 17, 1958.

Parade 

